Evaluation of the impact of interdisciplinarity in cancer care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Teamwork is a key component of the health care renewal strategy emphasized in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and in other countries to enhance the quality of oncology services. While this innovation would appear beneficial in theory, empirical evidences of its impact are limited. Current efforts in Quebec to encourage the development of local interdisciplinary teams in all hospitals offer a unique opportunity to assess the anticipated benefits. These teams working in hospital outpatient clinics are responsible for treatment, follow-up and patient support. The study objective is to assess the impact of interdisciplinarity on cancer patients and health professionals.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This is a quasi-experimental study with three comparison groups distinguished by intensity of interdisciplinarity: strong, moderate and weak. The study will use a random sample of 12 local teams in Quebec, stratified by intensity of interdisciplinarity. The instrument to measure the intensity of the interdisciplinarity, developed in collaboration with experts, encompasses five dimensions referring to aspects of team structure and process. Self-administered questionnaires will be used to measure the impact of interdisciplinarity on patients (health care utilization, continuity of care and cancer services responsiveness) and on professionals (professional well-being, assessment of teamwork and perception of teamwork climate). Approximately 100 health professionals working on the selected teams and 2000 patients will be recruited. Statistical analyses will include descriptive statistics and comparative analysis of the impact observed according to the strata of interdisciplinarity. Fixed and random multivariate statistical models (multilevel analyses) will also be used.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will pinpoint to what extent interdisciplinarity is linked to quality of care and meets the complex and varied needs of cancer patients. It will ascertain to what extent interdisciplinary teamwork facilitated the work of professionals. Such findings are important given the growing prevalence of cancer and the importance of attracting and retaining health professionals to work with cancer patients.</p

The socio-psychological challenges of succession in family firms: The implications of collective psychological ownership

One of the most distinct challenges that family businesses face is succession. Several researchers have recognized that it is not a single event, but a process associated with social and psychological challenges. This article advances knowledge on these challenges drawing on the theory of collective psychological ownership (CPO). More precisely, we present the socio-psychological challenges in succession, and the main factors related to them and discuss how CPO affects this relationship. This work serves as an analytical framework for future research on the topic.Post-print / Final draf

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/

Managing team innovation in the research and development (R&D) organization : critical determinants of team effectiveness

Teams are the principal vehicle in developing new drug development strategy and executing the tasks required to accomplish those objectives. This project evaluated the key drivers for team innovation performance (defined as outcomes). Team outcomes included new information creation, compression of development time, expansion of image, learning, capability development, growth satisfaction, and overall effectiveness. The two key research questions related to how team innovation performance are assessed in the branded pharmaceutical industry, and what the drivers for optimal team performance outcomes were. Results revealed that while good correlations individually existed between team outcomes (dependent variable) and tested independent variables (autonomy, coaching, climate, proactive personality, empowering leadership, and transactive memory systems), the best predictors identified through multivariate regression analysis were leader and peer coaching and transactive memory systems. The implications of these findings are examined and specific recommendations proposed. The limitations and avenues for further research are elaborated